30 Rock: That’s a deal-maker

What a great second episode of “30 Rock.” It was the perfect episode to follow a season opener. Still, if you read my last post, I was a bit disappointed with the actual opener, but they made up for it this week. Jenna was out of the picture for most of the episode, and even better, they brought back Jack’s arch-nemesis, Devin Banks. Actor Will Arnett is a fantastic supporting character, and his dialogues with Jack are priceless:

*Devin*: Revenge is a dish best served cold, Jack, like sashimi or pizza.
*Jack*: You prefer cold pizza?
*Devin*: The morning after? It’s the best.
*Jack*: Better than hot pizza? That’s insane!
*Devin*: You don’t tell me what kind of pizza to like!

The fact that they had to redefine the microwave to keep profits up was great, too. Who knew that the Honda Aztec was actually just a souped-up microwave?

I’ve never been that big a fan of Liz’s idea for a book, and the fact that she hasn’t expressed any remorse for making all her male friends’ significant others angry seems out of character. Sure, Liz is a can-do, feminist, modern woman, but she’s a nice person, and her “whatever, it’s your fault” attitude about her book doesn’t add up with her established character.

Despite the fact that Jenna was largely out of the episode for the entire 22 minutes, I still really hate her passive-aggressiveness. At least Tracy’s is funny. Her character is supposed to be annoying and childish and nimrodic, but she’s too annoying, childish, and nimrodic. I’m hoping she’ll quit or be written off or something once this secret new cast member comes onto the show.

I realize I talk a lot about how much I hate Jenna. Am I the only one who thinks she’s a lame character who doesn’t add much to the show? I’ll quit ragging on her.

This episode was definitely a deal-maker. From Devin’s gossipy chatting with Malia Obama to Jack’s stories about ice-climbing with Connie Chung to Tracy’s Liz-themed porno, this episode was golden. It allayed my fears that the solid-not-awesome season opener was the best they’ve got. Thanks to this episode, I have a new life-goal: to have a bitter argument consisting entirely of nasal laughter like Liz and Tracy